Front Office Staff
Mark King
Owner/Head Coach
Mark King is a former United States professional basketball player. A native of Inkster, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), King attended University of Pikeville (UPIKE) in Pikeville, KY as a walk-on freshman basketball player in 1996. In 2001, the Bears made their first ever appearance at the Men's NAIA Final Four.​
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​After college, King continued playing basketball professionally. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the Orlando Aces. After 2 years with the Aces, he earned a contract with the East Kentucky Miners of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 2007. On March 2, 2008, he was a part of the largest scoring output in American professional basketball history, contributing 5 of the 194 points scored by the East Kentucky Miners against the Atlanta Krunk.
Upon learning that he would soon become a father, King turned down an opportunity to play for the Chicago Throwbacks of the Premier Basketball League (PBL) and redirected his attention towards the creation of the Florida Flight in Orlando, Florida. The Flight debuted in the now defunct World Basketball Association (WBA), finishing with an 8-4 record, tied for second best in the league. With the league having no real control over teams showing up for their scheduled games, King withdrew the Flight out of the WBA, despite being set to play for the WBA Championship, after scheduling complications severely hindered the overall brand and business of the Flight in Florida.
The next season, the Flight was recruited to play in a new upstart league, the Continental Basketball League (CBL), led by former CBA Director of Operations Dennis Truax. The Flight once again endured no-show opponents during the season, but earned the Southern Division Championship and the right to play the Cary Invasion, the Northern Division Champion, in the CBL Championship. The Flight fell to the Invasion 102 - 81.​
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Tired of dealing with leagues with poor leadership, King partnered with 2-time NBA Champion Greg Kite to establish a new, 4-team minor league system and successfully launched the Florida-based Florida Basketball Association (FBA). In the FBA, King, Kite and the founding members of the FBA established a credible, Florida-based system that truly provided a platform to develop players, referees and other sports management enthusiasts without the heavy and unnecessary burden of large travel budgets. The FBA remains one of the most credible minor league systems in the United States.
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King graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Pikeville, and completed his Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) in 2012. When he's not with his family, he spends much of his free time guest speaking at various schools. He is also a regular guest lecturer at University of Central Florida's DeVos Sports Management School each semester.
